Jefferson Nickel Design Competition Announced

TREASURY DEPARTMENT
Washington

s0R RELEASH, AFTERNOON NEWSPAPERS, Press Service
January 25, 1933, No. 12-32

Tuesday»
1/24/38

4 $1,000 national competition anong American sculntors for the design of

a new five-cent coin to be known as the "Jefferson nickel" was announced today by

Secretary Morgenthau. ‘The competition will be conducted by the Section of
Painting and Sculpture of the Procurement Division.

According to law, the design of the coin of any particular denomination
nay be changed only once in twenty-five years. The "buffalo nickel" will have
been in use for that period on February 21 and the cometition for a new coin
will terminate April 15.

Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross, Director of the Mint, and three sculptors, Sidney
Waugh, Albert Stewart and Heinz Warneke, will judge the designs and recommend their
choice to the Secretary of the Treasury for final approval. Each competitor must
subuit two plaster models, one representing the obverse and the other the reverse
side of the coin. The winner will be paid $1,000 on condition that he executes a
fornal contract with the Treasury Department, agreeing, anong other things, to make
any revisions required by the Secretary of the Treasury.

"The subject matter," according to the invitation of the Section of Painting
and Sculpture, "must contain on the obverse of the coin an authentic portrait of
Thonas Jefferson. On the reverse side the subject matter will be a representation
of Monticello, Jefferson's historic home near Charlottesvillo. In nddition to the
words required by law to appear on the coin, the coin may contain the inscription

'MONTICELLO', in ord@er to identify the architecture.

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tThe coinage laws require that there shall apnear upon the obverse side of

the coin the word ‘LIBERTY’ and the date '1938', and upon the reverse side of the

win the inscriptions ' EB PLURIBUS UNUM! and ‘UNITED STATHS OF AMBRICA', and the

jenomination 'FIVE CENTS', The coin should also contain the notto 'IN GOD WE
None of the legends crvdevices are to be abbreviated and should be all
in capital letters."

To be acceptable to the Department, the models, the conditions stipulate,
should not exceed GS inches in diameter and should be executed in relief so that
the background curves slightly from the center to meet the edge of the coin or
border.

The conditions of the competition also require that no nodels be signed but
that they be accompanied by plain, sealed envelopes enclosing the sculptor!s name
and address. These will be numbered to match the designs and opened after the
selections No limit has been set on the number of designs any single sculptor

nay submite